REVIEW: Portrait of Pirates "Sailing Again" Shirahoshi figure

I have been a little crazy with writing figure reviews lately - possibly due to my cleaning out my display cabinet, or that I find a lack of figure reviews on here (that I happily want to fill as much as I can XD).

I am a very late-starter in figure collecting, having only started early last year in 2017 - but it has been one fulfilling (and expensive) hobby I had ever had the pleasure to indulge in. I am now working toward acquiring more older figures that I had missed out on, and so my reviews may feature a lot of figures from releases many years back but as I take them off my wishlist and into ownership with time, they will start to get more and more recent :)

This review will be about possibly the best female POP I currently possess in my figure collection, which is the Portrait of Pirates "Sailing Again" Shirahoshi figure. It features the gigantic Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi, whom the Straw Hat Pirates encounter during the Fish-Man Island arc.

She is not one of the main characters in the series, but Megahouse really went all out for this figure - resulting in one of the most sought-after holy grail female POPs. This figure was first released in 2012, and has been released 3 times now (twice in 2012 and once in 2013).

I managed to snag this figure just 6 months ago from a local collector - and am really grateful to be able to do that, because the weight of the box and figure truly caught me off guard when it arrived because it was just so heavy (if you are shipping from Japan, be prepared to pay a substantial amount).

THE BOX & PACKAGING: 9/10
I have this figure on display in the display cabinet so I did not bother putting her back into the box for photos. The box is big, pretty, and very colourful. It has an underwater feel, with a light blue background colour and metallic pink motifs - love it when they incorporate additional metallic colour on boxes. All the windows have the same metallic pink borders with beautiful decorative corners.

The sides of the box are also similar in design, with side windows lined in the same metallic pink and having images of the figure in different views.

They really went with the whole underwater theme, so we get many fish and coral motifs in metallic pink. The writing is also in the same colour.

The packaging comes in 2 plastic shells, held together with hard fixing wires, which is good because it is a big figure and rather heavy. It was very secure when I first removed her, there were no shifting of any parts of the figure whatsoever.

THE BASE: 7/10
The base is quite unique, in that it has no wordings on it and is essentially shaped like a blue boulder which the figure will rest on. In a glance, it looks like a very haphazard cheap clay base put together, and the weight certainly feels like it - it is very light.

The paint job for this base could have been done better, given how much length they went to for the actual figure itself. I am not a fan of the coral and flowers at the side at all, they look simple and give off an impression of cheap coloured plastic.

The bottom of the base will tell you which year the figure was released - mine was 2012.

Another problem with this base (while it does support the figure body well) is that the indentations over the bottom of the base are not that well-defined so you will find that Shirahoshi will shift if you do not position her properly on the base. There are two indentations to take note - one is the big one in the center meant for the huge bulk of her tail - that's where you will place her in the center, and then there's a raised segment meant for her left hand - if you place her properly, her left hand will rest just nicely on the boulder. Her hand should not be in the air, as I have found on several occasions when I was trying to position her.

Also, I have noted from users' complaints in the past that the blue paint can transfer to the tail if left for prolonged time on display... so I do move her once in a while from the base while cleaning - and if I have not done so for some time, she does actually stick to the base when I am trying to lift her up (thankfully, no paint transfer) - so if you do have her, do take her out from the base from time to time to prevent such condition to your figure.

But the base does its job, Shirahoshi cannot stand (or rather, sit) on her own without the base.

THE SCULPT: 10/10THE PAINT: 9/10
And now we come to the actual figure, Shirahoshi herself - and is she one beautifully gorgeous figure!

Everything on her is incredibly detailed, from the top of her hair till the end of her tail. The face is well-sculpted and painted, I like that they had her smiling instead of crying (which could potentially have ruined the figure presentation ;P). Her chest is also done very nicely, good cleavage without over-exaggerating the size of her breasts (which to be quite honest, are all the rage with the newer female POPs nowadays, extreme boobs spilling over and all that - which is pretty distasteful and overly lewd for me - though I am female and cannot comment for the opinion of the opposite sex). This one here is done just right though, it's sexy and girly and enticing at the same time. Less is more.

The sculptor had done a wonderful job with the hair too - her hair waves are gorgeous - and beatifully coloured pale pink and translucent toward the end. Certain collectors do not prefer this sort of colouring, but I think it rather works for this figure, it imparts a sort of dreamy and fairy-like effect to her figure.

Incredible details everywhere, and they even did the fish hairpin over the top of her head so well - it is translucent orange, and you can even see the scales on it! Her earrings are in the shape of seashells and the pearly texture details given to her yellow top are just fantastic. I also like that they did the painting of her top paler and more to a gold finish, rather then original anime's bright yellow - I think the pale gold works so much better with her pink and red colours. And the pale gold also changes to translucent as the cloth swirls behind her.

They also did the cloth surrounding her lap and waist as translucent white with painted orange beads (they look realistically like movable beads but it's actually just painted on). And if you move in closely to look at her from the back, you can just make out how they sculpted the skin before merging with the tail - sexy glimpse of her behind. Image tagged spoiler for NSFW, just in case.View spoilerHide spoiler

Moving down to her tail - which is really glorious and the part responsible for her bulky weight. The tail is very heavy and sturdy - and fantastically sculpted - the scales are realistic and painted with glossy red and pink. The red paint job here is a little messy at some parts but I don't really mind much, you only notice bits of it when you come in for a closer look.

I have read some collectors' mention about lines crossing across her tail (especially over the red paint) from where the wires had held the figure - and mine is the same too - but again, I don't really mind because you can barely notice when she is posed as she is.

The side fins of the tail are a translucent white, and very nicely done - you can make out the stripes, just like a real fish fin.

The tail end flares out in the large fin, also translucent white and very pretty. This fin is pretty big and takes up some space, so be careful not to hit anything with it when you are moving the figure around.

Shirahoshi comes with a single accessory, which is an adorable mini Luffy to pose perched on her right palm. The mini Luffy is very small, but all his details (straw hat, scar across chest, slippers) are all present.

THE POSE: 10/10
So this is how Shirahoshi is posed complete with the mini Luffy. I think it's a great pose, and showcases the true size of the character in comparison to the hero Luffy XD.

I don't pose her with Luffy in the display cabinet, though. There's nothing wrong with Luffy whatsoever and he sits very stable on her palm, but I feel like Luffy adds unnecessary colour and sort of distracts the full extent of the figure so I like to leave him out XD

More pictures!

FINAL THOUGHTS
She is one of the best POPs I have ever owned, very beautiful and high-quality. If you are a Shirahoshi or One Piece fan in general, then you of course have to get this. But if you think Shirahoshi is nothing but a spoilt crybaby, you still have to get this as well XD XD

I have heard that even collectors who don't know the One Piece series get her, because she is a fantastic mermaid figure - and they certainly aren't wrong ;)

This figure is really good - great sculpt and colour with attention to every tiny detail - and will be worth every cent you will spend on her. I have no complaints, except for the anticlimactic base and slight clumsy metallic red paint job at some spots over the tail - but otherwise, she is one gorgeous detailed figure. I rate her a 9.5/10.

PROS
- Fantastic and very detailed sculpt
- Gorgeous use of colours
- Accurate and beautiful representation of Shirahoshi
- JUST GET HER ALREADY

CONS
- Sloppy paint job over the tail but not very noticeable at all (but if you get the 3rd version, I heard the paint job is better)
- Not a great base (cheap quality and bad paint job)

So that's it for my review of Shirahoshi, hope you enjoyed reading and if you haven't gotten her yet and are planning to, hope this piece provides you the information you need. Cheers :)

Puntuación9/10

sailormatlac (Hace 2 meses) #46877881Interesting to see a review of this older figure. I recall that back in the time, many other Shirahoshi figures were in competition with this one. I'm no One Piece or POP fans, but I got her second hand a few month after release for a marginal amount of money and never regretted it. As you mentioned, she has a few flaws, but they fortunately aren't visible when displayed. I also agree she's among the best POP on the market. Most One Piece female characters have devolved into deformed image of their former selves. Breast are no more than inflated balloons stuck on a generic body. Fortunately, this figure being older, her proportions are far better. They well-handled how to present a generous breast by keeping it somewhat "realistic" and charming instead of outright vulgar, which wouldn't fit well the overall serene feeling of this figure. And let's be honest, well-shaded pink hairs are always a winning recipe with figures! Given the price, her obvious qualities and huge size, she's definitely a must have. Mine is still displayed in the same premium spot on my shelves since my initial purchase. Once again, thanks for bringing older figures back in the spotlight.
You are very welcome, and thanks for reading!

Interesting to see a review of this older figure. I recall that back in the time, many other Shirahoshi figures were in competition with this one. I'm no One Piece or POP fans, but I got her second hand a few month after release for a marginal amount of money and never regretted it. As you mentioned, she has a few flaws, but they fortunately aren't visible when displayed. I also agree she's among the best POP on the market. Most One Piece female characters have devolved into deformed image of their former selves. Breast are no more than inflated balloons stuck on a generic body. Fortunately, this figure being older, her proportions are far better. They well-handled how to present a generous breast by keeping it somewhat "realistic" and charming instead of outright vulgar, which wouldn't fit well the overall serene feeling of this figure. And let's be honest, well-shaded pink hairs are always a winning recipe with figures! Given the price, her obvious qualities and huge size, she's definitely a must have. Mine is still displayed in the same premium spot on my shelves since my initial purchase. Once again, thanks for bringing older figures back in the spotlight.

OceanRoost (Hace 2 meses) #46734988I love mermaids and have been tempted by this figure sooo many times!
Great review, loved all the pictures!
Thank you! and hope you give into temptation sometime ;)

TomTheCat (Hace 2 meses) #46738656Thanks for this review! I'm not a P.O.P. fan, but this figure has caught my eye before. I agree that she's got one of the best cleavages in figure history. And coming from me, this means something XD
Doesn't she? It's modest but sexy at the same time. Thanks for reading! :D

ghostorb (Hace 2 meses) #46758297Lovely review! I'm especially fond of the gradient effect in her hair; it looks wonderful in the photos you've taken! ^^
Thank you very much! :D

That could be true. Mine was the first or second release (I’m not sure anymore >.<) So maybe they changed the scheme slightly. I think if it was faded or a defect, it would be uneven too. So I guess this is meant to be silverish gold :)

Atras-Kainblut (Hace 2 meses) #46726557Did you buy your’s used?
The gold bra looks like it’s faded. Mine is gold all over it, while here her bra looks more silver with gold shadings.
Aside of that, she’s a wonderful figure and worth it’s money. Nice review :)
Thanks!
Yes, mine was secondhand, but I think the gold bra shade differs according to which edition you get? I assume so because I did realize the gold colour differs among different video reviews. If you look at this video www.youtube.com... - the figure in that one has the same colour top as mine. But in some other videos, they are a brighter gold. Can't say for sure though ;)

Did you buy your’s used?
The gold bra looks like it’s faded. Mine is gold all over it, while here her bra looks more silver with gold shadings.
Aside of that, she’s a wonderful figure and worth it’s money. Nice review :)